Page 22 of Saint’s Revenge

Riley's eyes widen slightly. "I… Thank you."

"Don't thank me yet." Phoenix's tone is not cruel, just honest. "We need to talk. All three of us. About what happened. About what comes next."

I tense. "She just woke up. She needs rest."

"I know. But this can't wait." Phoenix pulls up a chair. Sits down. Looks between us. "Riley, you gave Saint intel that led us directly to Demon. Intel that ended this war. That makes you either an ally or a massive liability depending on your next choices."

Riley straightens slightly despite the pain it must cause. "I understand."

"Do you?" Phoenix leans forward. "Because from where I'm sitting, you spent years with the Vipers. Years watching Demon build his empire. Years knowing what he was doing and staying anyway. That's not the profile of someone who just woke up one day and decided to be a hero."

"Phoenix—" I start, but Riley squeezes my hand.

"He's right," she says. "I did stay. I watched Daniel become Demon and I told myself I could pull him back. That the boy he used to be was still in there somewhere." She swallows hard. "I was wrong. And I stayed too long trying to prove otherwise."

Phoenix leans closer. "Why call now? Why not six months ago? A year ago?"

"Because six months ago I still thought there was hope." Her voice is steady despite the tears on her face. "A year ago I still believed he could be saved. But eight months ago he cut me off completely when I questioned one of his orders. Told me I was either all in or I was nothing to him. And I realized—" She stops. Breathes. "I realized the Daniel I knew was already gone. I just hadn't wanted to accept it."

"So you waited eight more months?"

"I was scared." The admission comes out raw. Honest. "Scared of what would happen if I betrayed him. Scared he'd kill me before I could do anything. But mostly scared that if I called Lucas, he'd show up and I'd have to watch him die too."

Phoenix glances at me. Back to Riley. "What changed?"

"He started spiraling worse. Killed three of his own men for suggesting they back down. Stopped sleeping. Stopped trusting anyone. I knew it was only a matter of time before he self-destructed completely and took everyone nearby with him." She holds Phoenix's gaze. "I called Lucas because ending it fast was the only way to minimize casualties. For everyone."

Silence. Phoenix processes this. I can see him weighing her words, searching for inconsistencies.

"Did you expect Lucas to kill him?" Phoenix asks.

Riley flinches. "No. I hoped—" Her voice breaks. "I hoped maybe it wouldn't come to that. Maybe you'd capture him or he'd surrender or something else would happen. But I knew if it came down to it, Lucas would do what needed to be done."

"And you called him anyway."

"Yes."

"Knowing it might destroy him to kill his own brother."

"Yes." Tears are streaming down her face now. "Because letting Daniel keep destroying people would have been worse. For everyone. Including Lucas."

Phoenix leans back. Crosses his arms, and stares at her for a long moment.

"You're telling the truth,"

"Yes."

"And you have no loyalty left to the Vipers."

"The Vipers are gone. There's nothing left to be loyal to." Her voice is firm. "Daniel was the last person I cared about in that club, and he stopped being Daniel a long time ago."

Phoenix nods slowly. Then looks at me. "What do you want to do?"

The question catches me off guard. "What?"

"She's your past. Your call." Phoenix's expression is unreadable. "She stays or she goes. You want her here, I'll make it work. You want her gone once she's healed, I'll arrange transport. But this is your decision, brother. Not mine."

I look at Riley. At her bruised face, broken ribs and eyes that are watching me like she's bracing for rejection.